Sri Lanka picked a four-man pace attack with all rounder Farveez Maharoof taking the place of injured spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
England chose off spinning all rounder Graham Swann ahead of left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who had been expected to play but makes way to balance the team in the absence of the injured Andrew Flintoff.
Phil Mustard, 24, makes his debut as England wicket-keeper and is expected to open the batting with Matt Prior still out with a broken thumb.
The five-match series includes three day-night matches in Dambulla and two day-night games in Colombo next week.
Sri Lanka:
Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando
England:
Paul Collingwood (capt), Alastair Cook, Phil Mustard (wk), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson
